stewaet



A. 2 sheets-sheet-- 1.

(No Medel.)

WQ W. STEWART.

FOUNTAIN PEN.

Ne. 378,987. Peteeted Mer. 6, 1.888.

' INVENTOR:

. e Se e tw eee* (No Model.)

2 Sheets-'Sheet '2. W. W.'STEWA RT.

' FOUNTAIN PEN. Y

4Padienlsed'Mar. 6, 1888.

INVENTOR WINES E of N. persas, mm-unwgnpw. wminmu. nc.

NITED STATES PATE-Nr OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. STEVABT, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 378,987, dated March 6, 1888.

Application filed April 27,1887.

To @ZZ whom, it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. STEWART, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to fountain pen-holders of that class havinga hermetically-cl'osed ink-reservoir in the handle communicating with the pen through a duct or passage.

The object of my invention is to afford improved means for controlling the flow of ink to the pen and the entrance Vof air to the holder in order to control the action of the air-bubbles and preventv their sealing or choking the duct. To this end I arrange in the air-duct what I term an irritant, of polished metal or other nonabsorbent material, which is looped at intervals in order to form partial pockets for catching the air-bubbles and contning them until they grow so large as to escape therefrom, whereupon they are subdivided by the irritant, which maintains an uninterruptedline ofliquid throughoutthelength of the duct. I also place in the air-duct one or more capillary partitions which serve to subdivide the ink and air without materially obstructing the iiow. These partitions may consist ofvspiral rollsor scrolls, tubes, flat y plates, or transverse pins, and may be made of any suitable material, as quill, hard rubber, or metal, I also loop the irritant through or around one or more of the partitions. By preference I form the ink-duct of a tubular bar or plug inserted in the nozzle of the holder and removable therefrom, and provided with a capillary slit along its upper side extending from the pen up into the reservoir.

M y invention 'also aims to improve the means for holding or coniining the pen in the nozzle of the holder, in order to facilitate its insertion, removal, and adjustment. rIo this end I provide a ring or band, preferably of hard rubber or metal, which slips over the removable plug or feed-bar and the pen, and which, when the pen is adj usted to the proper position on the bar, confines it tightly in place thereon and holds it thereto while the bar is being inserted in the nozzle.

The accompanying drawings show several Y feed-bar.

Serial No. 236.972. (No model.)

different constructions ofpens embodying my invention.

Figure 1 isa longitudinal mid'section of the preferred construction of holder. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the feed-bar or plug thereof removed. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the Fig. 4 shows the irritant and capillary partitions removed. Fig. 5 is a transverse section cut on the line 5 5 in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 shows the pen-fastening ring removed, in two views drawn on double the scale of the preceding gures. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the scrolllike capillary partition, and Fig. 8 is a similar view of the tubular capillary partition around which the irritant is looped. Fig. 9 is a transverse section of the holder on the line 9 9 in Fig. 1. The remaining views illustrate modified constructions. Figs. 10, 11,v 12, and 13 are longitudinal mid-sections, each of a different construction of holder. Fig. 14 is a perspective View of a feed-bar embodying part of my invention. Fig. 15 is a plan of another construction of feed-bar modified according to my invention. Fig. 16 is a longitudinal mid-section of a stylographic pen embodying part of my present invention. Fig. 17 is a longitudinal section of the feed-bar and pen removed, illustrating a modication of the ring which binds the pen to the feedbar.

I will first describe the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 8.

Let A designate the holder; B, the tubular nozzle at the lower end thereof; O, the pen or pen-nib; D, the reservoir or ink-hollow in the holder, and E the feed bar or plug. These parts are, in general, of the usual construction.

The feed-bar E fits tightly within the throat or bore of the nozzle B and its upper end enters within the holder. Along its upper side, and extending from within the holder near its upper end downwardly to or nearly' to its lower end, is formed a capillary slit, a, which constitutes a duct or capillary conduit down which the ink may flow to the pen. I prefer to form in the upper side of the feed-bar where it comes against the under side of the pen an angular notch or recess, b. This constitutes the capillary grip in my Patent No. 314,547, of March 24, 1885, its purpose being to hold a quantity of ink against the pen in readiness to be drawn upon for shading or heavy strokes IOO t with the ink-reservoir.

4o non-absorbent material.

where a sudden and considerable iiow of ink is required.

The feed-bar is hollow or tubular, its bore c, which extends from its upper end down to a 5 pointunderneath the pen, constituting the duct for ink or air. This duct communicates with the ink-reservoir either through the upper end of the bar, if that end be open, as shown, or through the capillary slit a or small perforaio tions d d. These latter may be used or not,

as desired. If the upper end of the feed-bar be left open, they may be omitted. In any case it is only essential that the bore c should have some communication more or less free The lower end of the duct c communicates with the under side of the pen C through the medium of the capillary slit a and the notch or grip b, (either or both.) The lower end of the feed-bar is pref- 2o erably contracted, and is formed with a minute bore, c, extending through it to its lower end.

F is what I tcrm an irritant,7 which I place in the bore or duct in the feedbar. My Patent No. 314,547, hereinbefore referred to, de-

scribes an irritant arranged in a capillary slit formed in the top of the feed-bar corresponding to the slit c, being for the purpose of keeping it open and free from clogging by the formation of a solid deposit from the ink. I now arrange the irritant in the duct itself more in accordance with my Patent No. 222,959, of December 23, 1S79,which illustrates a tine metallic wire extended through the inkduct for the purpose of facilitating the upward movement of the little bubbles of air entering the duct near the pen.

The irritant, F, may consist of any slender, somewhat flexible, and glazed, polished, or I prefer the use of a fine-polished gold wire, although I find that bristles, horse-hair, and other analogous substances answer the purpose well. I carry the irritant through the duct c, forming in it one or more loops, ff, which till or nearly fill, by

preference, the duct. The lower end of the irritant should extend down into or through the bore e, being thus brought into close proximity to the pen, or it may extend into the slit 5C a and impinge directly upon the pen, so as to 6o This liquid-line acts to meisten or lubricate the air-bubbles as they pass up the duct. The air enters beneath the pen through the slit a or small bore c, and passes into the duet c in the form of minute bubbles or froth, which,

collecting in the lower portion of the duct, re-

solves itself iuto larger bubbles, which are slowly drawn upward into the holder by the suction therein, occasioned by the outflow of ink to the pen. The ascending bubbles are caught by the loops f f in the irritant, and their too rapid rise into the reservoir is thus prevented. The openings in the loops and the spaces between the loops become filled with bubbles, which, by attracting smaller bubbles to them, tend continually to expand. If this tendency were not resisted, large bubbles would be formed, which would occupy the entire area of theduct and would expand against the walls thereof, and, being inclosed in tenacious iilms, would offer serious obstruction to the downward flow of iluid. This result is prevented by the looping of the-irritant,since the bubbles are imprisoned in the loops and intervening spaces, and when they expand beyond the area of the loops or spaces they subdivide themselves against the irritant, which acts to cut or shear them either into two smaller bubbles or to cut off a portion of the air, which, forming a smaller bubble, passes up along the irritant to the next loop or space above, where it lnay coalesce with another bubble, and thereby cause a repetition of the same action. Thus byits own movement, duc to the suction in the holder,the airis perfectly controlled in its ascent and is kept suiheiently subdivided to prevent its acting as a plug or stopper to close the duct,and at the same time the ascending air is utilized to obstruct, to some extent the downflow of ink through the duct, in order that such fiow may not be too great in volume or too rapid. The ink passes down chiefly along the inner wall ofthe duct, which, being made preferably ofhard rubber, becomes soaked with theink,and consequently affords a surface well adapted to attract and promote the ilow of liquid. The ink also flows down through the capillary slit a, which af-A fords acontinuously-open channel not liable to be obstructed by bubbles.

The motion of the pen in use will to some extent vibrate or agitate the irritant,since the latter is,or should be, arranged Very freely within the duct,and should be ofvery elastic or flexible material. This vibration facilitates the upward movement of the bubbles of air, while at the same time it favors the coalescing of adjoining bubbles, so that, while a continuons action is maintaincd,there is no tendency to bring down the ink too freely, so that it shall roll out of the pen in drops,as is the case with defective holders. In this pen a most perfect balance of 0pposing forces is maintained, resulting in a flow cf ink which adapts itself with the utmost niccty to the demands made upon itin the use of the pen. Y

The looped irritant77 provided by mypresent invention isnot to be confounded with a spiral coil of wire inserted within the inkchamber, as shown in Fig. 5 of my Patent No. 253,953, since with such a coil there is no successive cutting of the bubbles as they ascend, nor any means ol" preventing them from filling and plugging up the ink-duct. In my looped irritant the loops stand approximately in a lOO lIO

of which are shown in Fig. l, (lettered, re-

spectively, G and G.) The capillary partition G, which is shown detached in Fig. 7, consists of a spiral roll of quill, by preference, or of thin polished sheet metal or of thin polished hard rubber. The convolutions of this roll or scroll are slightly out of contact, leaving a continuous capillary space between them. Theirritant passes, preferably, through the center of the roll. The roll or scroll becomes saturated with liquid, or, if of impermeable material, it attracts the liquid to it, and

the air in ascending through its capillary interstices is necessarily subdivided into fine froth.` The thorough moistening or saturation of the air is thus insured-a condition which is practically advantageous, since it tends to prevent the after formation of the air into tough coherent bubbles or sacs. Y

The capillary partition G', which may be arranged either above or below the partition G, consists simply of a short cylindrical tube of quill, hard rubber, polishedmetal, or other material, which is fitted firmly within the bore c. The irritantis coiled or looped around one side of this partition or tube, as shown at f. The outer portion of this loop may enter the slit a or not. The doubled irritant thus passes through the center of the tube G', so contracting the opening or passage through it that it becomes, when filled with the minute bubbles of air, in effect a capillary passage. The tube G serves to facilitate the coalescing of the minute bubbles or froth int-o larger bubbles, which are thence started on their upward course along the irritant. It also serves as a partition to cut off the capillary slit a from the bore or duct c.

The feed-bar E is cylindrical exterior-ly and fits closely in the throat of the nozzle B. The nozzle below its throat isenlarged at y, so that it is out of contact with the feed-bar, and lower down, at h, it is still further enlarged, so 'that it is out of contact with the pen. Thus the lower portion of the nozzle constitutes the tubular extension77 claimed in my patent No. 237,454, dated February 8, 1881, for preventing evaporation of ink and protect-ing the tingers from being soiled.

The pen C is placed in position on the feedbar before the latter is inserted in the nozzle, and over the penis slipped a ring or band, H. (Shown detached in Fig. 6.) This ring should h't nso tightly over the pen and bar as to serve to hold them rmly together while they are being inserted in the nozzle. It is preferably screw-threaded on its exterior to fit a screwthread cut in the interior of the enlarged por# tion h of the nozzle. Upon the insertion of the pen and feed-bar into the nozzle they are rotated, in order to screw the ring H into these threads, thereby holding it firmly in position. Thevadjustment of the pen C to the desired position on the feed-bar may thus be accurately effected before their insertion in the holder, and when inserted the pen is clamped firmly in position. The screwing in of the ring H closes the cavity in the nozzle behind it, formed by the enlargement g therein, thereby converting that portion into a chamber, i, which is in communication with the capillary slit a.

The ring H has notehesjj in its inner side,

which come against the surface of the pen and serve to establish communication between this chamber t' and the inclosed space 71J beneath. Thus any ink which may worl; over upon the, outside of the pen and which shall enter the space h will be drawn up into the chamber i by suction when the holder is inverted. Otherwise this ink would remain at the lower end of the holder, where it might pass into the usual cap (not shown) which covers the penpoint when the holder is carried in the pocket and work out through the joint thereof to the exterior of the holder.

It is not essential that the ring H be screwthreaded; or, if screw-threaded, the threads may be cut upon its interior instead of its eX- terior, so that it may screw onto threads cut on the exteriorl of the feedbar. This construction is shown in Fig. 17. The top of the feedbar should be recessed or cut away to a depth equal to the thickness of the pen. The' feed-bar may be made somewhat conical in its threaded portion, so that as the ring H is screwed up it will be tightened upon the bar to any desired tension.

In the upper part of the holder or ink-reservoir is an adjustable capillary partition, J, preferably of hard rubber or quill. This partition is somewhat curved and is of such width that its edges bear tightly against the sides of the reservoir, so that when pushed in it retains itself in place frictionally. It may be adjusted higher or lower in the holder and lmay be turned to the upper or lower side thereof, ifdesired. The curve of this partition is such that between its convex side and the wall ofthe reservoir is formed a capillary space or pocket, I, which will attract to it a portion of the ink, so that the level of ink on the side of the partition forming this pocket will behigher than on the opposite side thereof. This partition will thus serve to retain the ink inthe holder under capillary attraction, and will keep it from moving too freely under the influence of gravitation or during the movement of the holder while in use. Two or more partitions J may be used, arranged at different positions inthe holder, as shown in Fig. 1.

IOO

By a suitable arrangement of these partitions the flow of ink may be rendered more or less free, as may be desired.

I will now proceed to describe the modified constructions illstrated in Figs. 10 to i6, inclusive.

In Fig. 10 the feed-bar has a singleeapillary partition placed in it, lettered G, and consisting of a flat piece of quill, hard rubber, &c., around which the irritant, F,is coiled or looped at f. The irritant is not otherwise looped. The pen C is pressed in between the feed-bar and the nozzle and fastened iu place by a wedge, It', which is forced in on top of it. The nozzle has a tubular extension, B', screwed onto it. The feed-bar projects through the upper end ofthe nozzle, and on its projecting end is slipped a tube, E. This tube has a capillary slit, a, along its top, which communicates wit-h the capillary slit a in the feed-bar In geueral the construction is similar to that shown in my Patent No. 251,175,0f February 28,1882.

Fig. Il shows a construction of pen similar to that in my Patent No. 214,795, of April 29, 1879. rIhere is no capillary slit a, butthefeedbar is provided with perforations com municating with the ink-reservoir above and with other perforations or small vents, au, communicating with the under side of the pen and serving for the admission of air or discharge of ink, as the case may be. The coil of wire q serves as a capillary conduit to conduct the ink` from the duct to the pen. rIhe irritant, F, extends up through the duct in the feed-bar E and continues on up to a supplementary feedbar, E', beinglooped at intervals through both.

Fig. l2 shows a pen having a looped irritant extending` through the feed-bar, with the ring II, serving to bind the pen to the feed-bar and screwing inside a tubular extension, B, which itself screws upon the lower end of the nozzle B, thus clamping the ring H against the end of the nozzle.

Fig. 13 shows a construction wherein the ring I-I and tubular extension Bare bothmade in one piece and screwed into the end of the nozzle. rljhe irritant, F, is looped atf, extends thence through the capillary slit a over the spiral partition G, thence down into the duct c, and through the center of the tubular partition G. It will be understood that either ofthe three forms of partitions G, G, or G may be used alone or in combination with either of the others, according to the precise effect desired, and that if two or more be used in combination they may be arranged in any desired order. By varying the kind of partition or the arrangement of partitions the flow of inl; may be made more or less free to suit the taste of different penmen.

Fig. 14 illustrates an ordinary feed-bar such as is used in certain kinds of cheap fountainpens, it having been altered in accordance with my present invention in order to render the pen practical and efficient. The feed-bar is a simple straight bar with a groove or gutter along its upper side which comes against the pen. In this gutter I place one, two, or more cross-pins, G", and I then take an irritant, F, and loop it around these pins. The pins G" constitute partitions in the ducts, whose operation is analogous to that of the partitions G G.

Fig. 15 illustrates another com mou feed-bar used with certain cheap pens after having been altered in another` way according to my invention. The feed-bar has a bore through it and a broad groove ou top united by a capillary slit. I arrange bridges or partitions G across the groove at intervals and take an irritant, F, and loop it around these partitions, carrying its loops into the capillary slit a and letting its upper end project into the holder.

Fig. 16 represents a stylographic or stylus pen embodying` my present invention. The stylus C extends up through the conical tip and is formed with a flexible scroll or spiral, L@,whieh constitutes its spring-seating, coming against au adjustable tube, E',whieh is pressed into the nozzle from its upper end; An irritant, F, looped atff, extends from the chamber below this tube up through the latter and into the ink-reservoir.

I claim as my invention in a fountain-pen the following-defined novel features or combinations,substantal ly as hcrei nbefore speci tied, namely:

l. A ibuntain-pen having an irritant of nonabsorbent material formed with longitudinal loops and arranged in the ink duct or passage leading from the reservoir to thc writingpoint.

2. A fountain-pen constructed with a reservoir and an ink-duct leading thence to the writing-point and having in said duet an irritant ofnonabsorbent material formed into successive longitudinal loops at intervals.

3. A fountain-pen constructed with a reservoir and an ink-duct leading therefrom, and with a capillary slit along said duet, and having an irritant extendingthrough said duct and looped at intervals therein.

4t. A fountain-pen constructed with a reservoir in its holder and witha feed bar inserted thereimwith an ink-duct through said bar and a capillary slit along the same, combined with a looped irritant arranged in said ink-duet.

5. A fountain-pen constructed with a reservoir and au ink-duct leading therefrom, with one or more partitions in said duct, and with an irritant extending through said duct and looped at intervals therein.

6. A fountain-pen consti-acted with a reservoir and an ink-duct leading therefrom, and with a capillary slit along said duct, combined with acapillary partition in said duct and with an irritant extending through said duct.

7. A fountain-peu constructed with a reservoir and an ink-duct leading therefrom, and with a capillary slit along said duct, combined with a partition in said duct and with an irritant therein looped around said partition.

S. A fountain-peil constructed with a reservoir and an ink-duct leading therefrom, combined with a capillary partition in said duct and with an irritant therein extending through said partition.

9. A fountain-pen constructed with a reservoir and an ink-duct leading therefrom, combined with an irritant in said duct and a capillary partition therein consisting of a strip rolled into spiral form with capillary interstices between its convolutions.

10. A fountainfpen constructed with a reservoir and au ink-duct leading therefrom, and with a capillary slit along said duct, combined with a capillary partition in said duet filling the same and separating it from said slit, and with an irritant in said duct extending. through said partition.

11. rlhe combination, with a fountainholder, of a removable feed-bar insertible in the nozzle thereof, and a ring, H, entering within the nozzle and passing over said bar and the pen l to bind them together.

13. The combination, with a fountain-holder and its nozzle, the latter having a recess, g, of the feed-bar fitting the throat of the nozzle, and the ring H, fitting over said bar and adapted, when inserted in the nozzle, to close the recess g, and form thereby a suction-chamber, t'.

14. The combination, with a fountain-holder, of an adjustable capillary partition, J, having the form of a section of a hollowr cylinder arranged in the inkreservoir and held in place therein by frictional contact of its edges with the walls thereof.

15. The combination, with a fountain-holder, of an adjustable partition, J, having the form of a section of a hollow cylinder arranged in the reservoir, its edges binding frictionally WILLIAM W. STEWART.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR C. FRAsER, GEORGE H. FRASER. 

